Our people

Harold Brako

Harold is noted in Chambers and Legal 500 as "unflappable" and singled out by his clients as "calm and commercial" and "very solutions driven and obtains excellent results".

Partner, Co-head of Financial Services Sector
Manchester, UK

Expertise

Harold is a Finance Litigation and Disputes Partner, with particular expertise in banking, asset-based lending and receivables financing disputes, both cross border and domestic. He provides advice to the major UK clearing banks, challenger banks, international banks and a wide range of finance sector clients (which include Private Equity and other independent funders). Harold headed up Addleshaw Goddard's Manchester office until May 2024 (having also previously founded and headed up the Manchester office of Shoosmiths) and is a member of AG's Board. Harold is also co-head of AG's Financial Services sector - AG's largest service sector.

As an experienced litigator, Harold provides advice on and acts in relation to all aspects of dispute resolution, including claims for and against lenders, fraud claims and asset recovery involving urgent worldwide injunctive processes, contractual / commercial disputes, reviews and enforcement of security and insolvency proceedings. Harold is consistently recognised as a leading lawyer in the Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories given his client base, depth of knowledge, experience, and peer recognition. In the current edition of Legal 500, Harold is listed as a "Hall of Famer" and a Band 1 practitioner in Chambers. Harold was also named in "The Lawyer Hot 100, 2024" list, The Lawyer's impact index of the UK's most innovative lawyers.

Harold is a member of Addleshaw Goddard's Africa Business Group and regularly visits and acts for Addleshaw Goddard's clients in Africa and the Middle East.

Harold is also the ethnicity lead on the firm's inclusion and diversity programme which focuses on attraction, recruitment and engagement in all AG's inclusion and diversity strands. Harold was shortlisted for the Diversity Champion Award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards in September 2019 and mentors aspiring ethnic lawyers both internally and externally. Harold has been nominated for the African Business Chamber Top 100 African Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs in the UK 2024.

Experience

Advising various clients on injunctions arising from customer, executive and retail frauds as a result of fraudulent activity, including claims against the perpetrators.
Acting for clients in defeating proceedings against them for damages arising out of alleged breaches of agreement by the lender.
Obtained a worldwide freezing injunction against a customer and its directors as a result of a fraud perpetrated against the lender.
Advised on bespoke terms of security and guarantee documents for major receivables finance company funding an overseas company backed by guarantors outside the jurisdiction.
Pursued and obtained a substantial settlement against a guarantor for liabilities owed following the collapse of its company customer.
Obtained a substantial recovery for an invoice discounting company in relation to a fraud perpetrated against the invoice discounter by an insolvent construction company fraudulently raising "fresh air" invoices.
Acting in the administration of a banking client's customer involving a £50m exposure to the bank. Advising and acting on the enforcement of the client's security against company directors and guarantors.
Various cases involving the advising on and assistance of the collection of assigned debts which are disputed including conducting entire ledger collect outs.

Harold Brako

AG Risk Radar for Business Disputes

Recent events have impacted almost every aspect of our lives. These are times of real challenge – but also opportunity. Download the business disputes risk radar for a snapshot of the most immediate legal risks.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT